Thread: Series 2 clutch issue

Thing to check is the two pins that, together with a short steel tube, join the shaft operated by the slave cylinder bell crank to the shaft that operates the clutch fork.

These need to be special hardened pins, as replaced by ordinary bolts they rapidly bend or shear completely, resulting in lost motion.

Other than this, the most likely issue is that the clutch fork shaft is incorrectly assembled with the clutch fork. Unfortunately, this is a box out job. Have a read of the factory workshop manual.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Thing to check is the two pins that, together with a short steel tube, join the shaft operated by the slave cylinder bell crank to the shaft that operates the clutch fork.

These need to be special hardened pins, as replaced by ordinary bolts they rapidly bend or shear completely, resulting in lost motion.

Other than this, the most likely issue is that the clutch fork shaft is incorrectly assembled with the clutch fork. Unfortunately, this is a box out job. Have a read of the factory workshop manual.

Thanks John. So you believe that 2cm travel in the slave connecting rod is normal/adequate?
And I've had a suggestion that the replacement slave's rod is perhaps not long enough and that mounting the slave under the bracket might help (as it will add about a centimetre to the downward movement).

It is possible that the rod is not long enough, but, in my view, unlikely. Worth trying a longer one though if the coupling checks out to be OK. I don't know that I have ever measured how much stoke is needed on the slave cylinder, but I don't think it is very much, provided there is no lost motion.

Disconnect the rod from the clutch actuator arm and see where it wants to be in relation to activating the clutch. If you remove the gear lever there is an inspection hole you can shines torch in to see what’s going on. There should be just a little bit of clearance between throw out Top hat and the pressure plate fingers maybe a mm or so, if this can be achieved it’s probably not a box out but adjustments back to the pedal.
As John says there are a lot of moving parts in a series2 to get the clutch to work and a failure or a bit of wear here and there soon adds up to a lot at the clutch plate/pressure plate interaction
I had similar problems recently probably due to cumulative wear I ended up lengthening the slave cylinder rod
if your a series owner a workshop manual is a good investment and interesting reading most things can be fixed if you know where to start
Good luck

Cheers Paul

2 cm doesn’t seem like enough. A longer rod won’t really help as it won’t make a difference to the travel distance.

Increasing the travel on the cylinder is a function of the amount of fluid being pushed in. Up at the pedal box, is the rod adjusted correctly?
Also, check the pedal stop on the back of the pedal box itself and the one in the foot well.

If all of that is fine, then there may be some leakage inside the cylinder.

Unless the gear box has been rebuilt, it’s unlikely to be the release mechanism.

If the vehicle has not been driven for a while it could be that the clutch plate lining s have stuck to the flywheel & pressure plate , just a thought.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

It is possible that the rod is not long enough, but, in my view, unlikely. Worth trying a longer one though if the coupling checks out to be OK. I don't know that I have ever measured how much stoke is needed on the slave cylinder, but I don't think it is very much, provided there is no lost motion.

Hi John
Thanks for helping with this. I am feeling confident that the problem is that the clutch has rusted itself to the flywheel due to inactivity.
Regarding the slave cylinder push rod, I have the required amount of distance from the housing bracket to the bottom of the lock nut (73mm).
The consensus seems to suggest the amount of travel in the push rod is OK.
And I've checked the sleeve joining the two shafts as they enter the bell housing. The pins look good. They are the real deal, with the little clips holding them in position. There is no sideways/swivel play. The rotation on the sleeve is the same as the rotation on the clutch shaft and operating lever (albeit only about 5 degrees by my estimation).
Unless your advice is otherwise, I intend to bleed the brakes (I didn't do this because I thought I would be taking the hydraulic reservoir off again, etc), start the car in gear (jacked up) and trying to break the rusted bond by driving hard and braking hard.

OK, best of luck!

Possibly a similar effect, I am finding that this winter, when starting from cold after being unused for a few days, the clutch on my 2a is dragging - so that it objects to engaging first, second or reverse, but the solution in my case is simply to engage the synchromesh third or fourth first to stop the gearbox. Then no issues.

Perhaps worth noting that this winter is the wettest it has been for years!